An ovitrap is a device which consists of a black cylinder with a piece of cardboard submerged into the water in the cup. Ovitraps mimic the preferred breeding site for container breeding mosquitoes, including Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti.

The Ovitrap was first described in 1966 and was initially designed for monitoring Aedes populations. Researchers found that if they provided artificial breeding sites, they could easily collect and study the eggs found in the container. Since the original ovitrap was invented, lethal ovitraps have been developed, which kill the larvae and/or the adult mosquitoes that enter.